[gardeners] Saturday in the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sat, 09 May 1998 08:36:17
Took my morning coffee and the newspaper (yes, I'm old-fashioned, still
read a couple of papers a day) out to the garden about 0630. Nice and cool,
dew still on the grass, enjoyed watching the carpenter/mason bees waking up
and crawling out of the flowers they had spent the night in. Sleepy Dawg
was communing with the next door dogs when a small, gentlemanly Dachshund
came up to the gate and greeted all. The little male was the sudden hit of
the day for the females in adjacent yards. Didn't matter that everyone had
been "fixed", it was just the excitement of a new boy on the block. Sleepy
came coming back to me to let me know that she still preferred me but would
go back and sniff where the little dachshund had been.
The blue jays are scoping out the blueberries as are the mockers. A few
hummers are hanging around the feeder so suppose I should mix up a fresh
batch of sugar water. A cardinal pair came to the birdbath, well, strictly
speaking it's a terra cotta pot saucer stuck into a tomato cage, but they
think it's a birdbath. Heard a pilated woodpecker calling in the distance
and then, a few minutes later, another calling back. The squirrels are
chasing each other around the tree tops so suppose we are close to having
another generation of tree rats conceived.
The multi-colored swiss chard sorta glows in the early morning light,
shades of red, orange, chartreuse, silver, and green. The squash blossoms
were slowly opening up and greeting the day while the cuke blossoms did
much the same. Checked out the garlic, both regular and elephant, and it
looks to be a bumper crop come mid-summer. The green beans are a-blooming
so it won't be long to this years fresh crop. A gardener/preservers job is
never done, still have about 20 pints of last years crop to eat up.
Preparing the grounds for the visit of our daughter and her children
tomorrow. Coming to see Miz Anne on Mother's Day and to see the Grandpa
just because he lives there too. We are both on tenter hooks awaiting their
arrival even though it's only been two weeks since we last saw them. I must
be getting sentimental in my "reclining" years as I do love those kids and
grandkids. When they were teens I could hardly stand to be around them
cause Miz Anne wouldn't let me kill them. Thanks be, our children grew up
to be responsible citizens and genuinely good people despite their teen
years, there may be hope for the grandkids too.
I hope you all enjoy this Mother's Day weekend and that all you Mother's
get all the love and appreciation you deserve.
George, Anne, and Sleepy Dawg Shirley
Citizens of Planet Earth